Western Kentucky safety Devon Key (right) and defensive end Derik Overstreet (left) converge on a Vanderbilt ball carrier during the Hilltoppers’ 31-17 loss last Saturday in Nashville.

Western Kentucky’s 2017 season is nearing its end. At 5-4, the Hilltoppers have three regular-season games left to help shape how this year will be remembered.

The final push of WKU’s first campaign under coach Mike Sanford starts Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. CST date at Marshall. BeIN Sports will carry the broadcast from Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W.Va.

The Toppers (5-4 overall, 3-2 Conference USA) are one win away from clinching bowl eligibility for the seventh straight season. Three games remain: Marshall on Saturday, Middle Tennessee at home Nov. 17 and Florida International on Nov. 24.

“We’re at the fourth quarter of our season, the last guaranteed three games,” Sanford said Thursday after practice. “We’ve got to go out and put our best football out in the fourth quarter of the season.

“Twenty-five percent of our games remain, with some rivalries. We’re excited for this one against Marshall.”

Saturday will mark the fourth time WKU has faced the Thundering Herd (6-3, 3-2) since joining Conference USA in 2014. The Toppers didn’t waste any time making an impression on Marshall, beating an undefeated Herd team 67-66 that year on the day after Thanksgiving.

The series was immediately described as a rivalry after that 2014 thriller, but Marshall hasn’t held up its end of that bargain the last two seasons. WKU eased past the Thundering Herd 49-28 on Nov. 27, 2015, in Bowling Green, then walloped Marshall 60-6 on Nov. 26 of last year to put the finishing touches on a 3-9 season for the Herd.

Marshall has rebounded from that disastrous 2016 campaign, starting this season 6-1. The Thundering Herd was leading the hunt for a Conference USA East Division title until losing the last two weeks to Florida International and Florida Atlantic.

Saturday will be a matchup of two teams that take in two-game losing streaks. WKU lost Oct. 28 to FAU, then fell 31-17 last week in a nonconference matchup at Vanderbilt.

The loser Saturday will be eliminated from the C-USA East race. The winner will still need a series of events to fall in place to stay alive in the conference title hunt behind FAU (6-3, 5-0) and FIU (6-2, 4-1).

“It’s important because it’s a rivalry, first off,” WKU linebacker Ben Holt said. “It’s also important because we just dropped two games back-to-back.

“That’s not acceptable for us. Now we’re going to go up there and show what we’re all about.”

The Hilltoppers are likely to have quarterback Mike White available Saturday. He practiced this week after getting knocked out of the Vanderbilt contest late last week.

Backup Drew Eckels will be at the ready as well, Sanford said.

“I feel great about where Mike is at and I feel great about the preparation Drew Eckels has put in,” Sanford said. “We’re at a good place at the quarterback position.”

Injuries have afflicted the Tops over the last month, with Sanford announcing running back Quinton Baker and linebacker Demetrius Cain are both done for the year.

Wide receivers Cameron Echols-Luper and Kylen Towner, tight end Deon Yelder and linebacker Daeshawn Bertram are among key players who missed the Vandy game. Sanford declared those players day-to-day Monday but, without getting into specifics, said Thursday that WKU’s offense is healthier this week than last.

Getting some contributors back in the lineup would be a boost for a Topper squad trying to finish its season strong.

“We’re playing for pride and we’re going to see who the men are,” nickelback Ta’Corian Darden said. “With this team, we’re not going to quit.

“We’re playing for this next win, which hopefully comes next game. Three games left, and we want to win all three.”

Broadcast information

TV broadcast: BeIN Sports (Play-by-play: Mike Gleason; Analyst: Brett Romberg; Sideline: Michelle Gingras)

Radio: 105.3 FM/1450 AM (Play-by-play: Randy Lee; Analyst: Leo Peckenpaugh; Sideline: Terry Obee)

Notes

The all-time series between the two schools is tied 4-4. The Hilltoppers have won three straight in the series and are 2-3 against the Thundering Herd in Huntington. … Since 2013, WKU is 14-2 in the month of November and has won 10 of its last 11 November games dating back to the ’14 season. … The Toppers are looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2012, when they dropped consecutive contests to Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic and Louisiana-Lafayette. … Saturday will mark WKU’s first time facing the same conference opponent on the road in consecutive seasons since playing at Akron in both 1980 and ’81. … White (51 passing touchdowns) needs one more TD throw to pass Kawaun Jakes and move into second place by himself on the school’s all-time list behind Brandon Doughty (111).